New Bern Aldermen candidates address public concerns at forum

Candidates in the New Bern Aldermen races got a chance to take their cases to the people Thursday night at the City Candidates Forum at the North Carolina History Center.

Candidates on the ballot for the Oct. 10 election were presented with a chance to introduce themselves and explain their positions on a number of topics, ranging from the responsibilities of an alderman to local race relations.

Ward 6 Alderman Jeffrey Odham, who is running unopposed, was invited but chose not to participate in the forum.

The event was sponsored by Citizens for a Better New Bern and the Sun Journal. Only candidates who were running in opposed races were presented with questions.

The first question of the night was “Describe your conception of the powers and responsibilities of an alderman?”

Ward 1 candidate Bengel and Blackiston both said they saw aldermen as mediators, where they hear an issue from a resident and become an advocate for that resident by taking it to city staff.

Ward 4 candidate Strickland said he believed an alderman’s job is “what they make of it.”

“Everybody on the board will determine every single day whether they intend to show up at meetings, vote and go home, or if they want to be actively engaged with the citizens of their ward and be a representative of the citizens and working for the citizens on a daily basis,” said Strickland.

Midgette-Ward, who is also seeking the Ward 4 seat, said part of being an alderman is acting as an advocate.

“It’s about standing in the gap in between two parties, the powerful and the helpless," she said. "So many of the residents in our ward have concerns about the city who maybe can’t go to city hall or reach a person in power. But they feel comfortable coming to you to as their advocate to speak for them.”

Ward 5 candidate Best said an alderman’s first job should be as a public servant to the citizens.

“The Board of Aldermen have to work together as a team. We have to have some type of diplomacy and keep an open mind that we all have different opinions and things we want to accomplish,” said Best.

The next question for the candidates asked how they would educate residents in their wards about important city issues.

Bengel responded that an adlerman should go “directly to the people through community groups, residents associations and email chains and social media sites."

Ward 1 candidate Bonnici said, if elected, he would send out a quarterly newsletter to the residents of his ward.

Schout, who is also seeking the Ward 1 seat, said she would move to organize community council meetings made up of representatives from the various neighborhoods in Ward 1.

“I think communication is the most important thing we can do as an alderman,” said Schout. “The council would allow us to come together to discuss issues to make sure you have a finger on the pulse of the ward.”

Schout said she would also hold “ward hall” meetings to discuss issues with residents and establish and an email and text tree.

Strickland said the best way to make sure citizens are aware of issues is to develop strong community relationships.

“Nothing is closer to my heart than how engaging it can be for the community whenever the city is involved or how discouraging it can be whenever the city is not,’ said Strickland. “You have to let people now you’re always there and willing to hear their concerns and go to work for them, not just whenever something major comes up.”

Ward 4 incumbent Kinsey and Ward 5 incumbent White both said they regularly attend monthly community meetings in their districts.

“That’s one way to share information. We also have community watch, where different members of the city come out and share information,” Kinsey explained.

The forum’s third question asked candidates how they would deal with a proposed regulation before the Board of Aldermen that was opposed by a large number of citizens.

“It is our job to listen to the citizens. If I had a large group of my constituency telling me that they did not want me to vote for the proposed ordinance, I would strongly have to consider that,” said Bengel, who mentioned the board’s controversial decision to institute utility deposits for customers who have their power cut off for nonpayment.

“There were 975 people who were against utility deposits, yet they were voted in. That concerns me,” she said.

Blackiston, who voted for the utility deposits, said the change was necessary due to unpaid utility charges. “I was one of the ones who said ‘Yes, we have to stop the outflow of uncollected monies.’ When I came into office in 2013, there was more than $475,000 going out the door. That was money that was not being used for the betterment of New Bern,” Blackiston said.

Blackiston said in the last year the uncollected funds had been reduced to $168,000. He also pointed out he had made four motions to reduce city utility bills by 17 percent “even against the desires of some of my co-board members.”

According to Bonnici, he would do his best to listen to his constituents, while keeping in mind what’s best for the city as a whole.

“I will do my best to listen to Ward 1, but when it comes down to it I have to do the job that everybody in the ward elected me to do. ... It’s my name that’s going to vote for it. It’s my record,” said Bonnici.

“You have to do what you feel is best for the city,” responded Strickland. “If this were intended to be a popular vote on every single item, there would be no need for any of this board.”

Midgette-Ward said when aldermen consider issues such as utility deposits the needs of all New Bern citizens should be taken into account.

“When I have people coming to me and saying 'I cannot afford to pay this’ and they’re coming to the churches to ask us for money to help pay (bills) ... we have to weigh it out and see what’s best for everyone,” she stated.

“What if a person has a problem and needs oxygen and can't pay their bill? Are we going to go there and cut their utilities off,” asked Best. “We need to evaluate situations and look into ways we can help our people, because that’s what we’re here for.”

The final question of the forum dealt with efforts each candidate would take to bridge the “ethnic divide” in New Bern.

“Me being a former coach, I had all different nationalities playing on my team and I made them all bond as one. They played as one team,’ said White. “It starts in the head. I want New Bern to be like it once was, an all-American city, but we’re divided in different areas.”

Midgette-Ward said she believed community programs were the best way to bring different ethnic groups together.

“Right now there’s nothing to bring the people together. You have the Boys and Girls Club, which is mostly minority children, and you have the YMCA, where a lot of minority children can't afford to go. We need more things where we can come together and it’s not based in what you can pay,” she said.

Strickland admitted that, given the current political climate, there was no easy answer to racial and ethnic problems.

“No one has a magic answer. All we can do is be open and honest and willing to listen to people and have conversations, difficult ones, easy ones, whatever they may be,” he said.

As he did for much of the night, Bonnici took a slightly different approach to the question than his fellow candidates, arguing that laws that favor minority groups are part of the problem.

“When the federal government tells the city of New Bern we have to have one third of the wards where an African-American has to be elected, how can we even try? We have to get rid of all that. We can’t continue to pay for the sins of our forefathers,” said Bonnici.

“It’s our job as aldermen to listen and try to bring people together,” said Schout. “If you don’t do that, you're not doing your job. You need to make sure everyone is represented and everyone has a voice.”

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